Pointing devices such as computer mouse are commonly used, for example, to control cursor movement displayed on a computer screen for making selections on a graphical user interface (GUI). The use of pointing devices often involves highly repetitive hand and finger movements and positions. Some forms of repetitive stress disorder such as the carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) may be attributed to frequent use of pointing devices, particularly where awkward and stressful movements and/or positions are involved. Hence, pointing devices having configurations that force the wrist, hand and fingers of a user to assume awkward and stressful positions and/or movements are undesirable.
Additionally, the problem of users suffering from repetitive stress disorder due to use of pointing devices is even more pronounced in today's environment, where the deployment of personal computers (PCs) for different purposes ranging from productivity work to gaming is highly ubiquitous, as compared to the past. Notably, PC gaming is gaining enormous popularity worldwide due to the emergence of the Internet as a platform for allowing gamers to easily interact with one another through online gaming. PC games being played online normally belong to genres ranging from first person shooter (FPS) games to massive multiplayer online role player games (MMORPGs). Typically, pointing devices, such as the computer mouse, are used together with keyboards as means for enabling users to interact with the PC games.
Due to rise in popularity of PC gaming, users require more buttons than ever before to be provided on the computer mouse for activating additional functionalities and features of the PC games “on-the-fly”. Conventionally, computer mouse are typically pre-built with one or two buttons. However, to take advantage of macro “shortcut” functions provided by software and PC games, device manufacturers have been building additional buttons onto the computer mouse such as locating the additional buttons on the lateral sides of the left and right mouse buttons of the computer mouse. Due to the awkward positioning of the additional buttons fitted to conform to the shape of the computer mouse, the additional buttons are thus not easily accessible by the users.
Hence, in view of the foregoing problems, there affirms a need for a device with buttons that are ergonomically positioned thereon.